edvard munch

May 21, 2019 Leave a Comment

Rhythm in Art: The Ultimate List of Rhythm in Art Examples

Inside: The ultimate collection of rhythm in art examples, including everything from regular to random, plus a rhythm in art definition. A continuation of our Elements and Principles of Art series.

Here are some artworks you can use to teach rhythm in art for your elements and principles of design rhythm lessons. I will add to this list when I find more, so this is a good one to pin or bookmark! The horizontal images do not contain all of the examples.

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This pack of printables was designed to work in a variety of ways in your classroom when teaching the elements and principles of art. You can print and hang in your classroom as posters/anchor charts or you can cut each element and principle of art in its own individual card to use as a lesson manipulative.

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Elements & Principles Printable Pack

The Elements & Principles of Art are the foundation of every artwork, but teaching them can be a bore. Wake your students up and engage them with full color artworks, easy to understand definitions, and thought-provoking higher level thinking questions. This versatile resource can be hung in the classroom or used as an art manipulative.

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Rhythm Art Definition

Rhythm is a principle of design that suggests movement or action. Rhythm is usually achieved through repetition of lines, shapes, colors, and more. It creates a visual tempo in artworks and provides a path for the viewer’s eye to follow.

Principles of Design Examples Rhythm in Art

Rhythm in Art Examples

Jacob Lawrence, Parade, 1960
André Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2), 1912
Gino Severini, Dynamic Hieroglyphic of the Bal Tabarin, 1912
Marsden Hartley, Indian Composition, 1914-15
George Tooker, The Subway, 1950
Martin Puryear, Ladder for Booker T. Washington, 1996
Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930
Alexandra Exter, The Boat and the Town, 1925
Louise Bourgeois, The Blind Leading the Blind, c. 1947-49
Albert Renger-Patzsch, Beech Forest in Fall, 1936

Alternating Rhythm

Alternating rhythm describes an artwork that contains a repetition of two or more components that are used interchangeably. Some alternating rhythm examples include alternating light and dark colors or placing various shapes and/or colors in a repeating pattern.

Henri Matisse, Red Room, 1908
M.C. Escher, Lizard, 1942
George Tooker, Government Bureau, 1956
Frank Lloyd Wright, Interior, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Robert Delaunay, Endless Rhythm, 1934
Andy Warhol, Untitled from Marilyn Monroe, 1967 (9 Screen prints)
Hans Hinterreiter, ME 25 B, 1935
Bernard Hoyes, Sweeping Ribbons

Random Rhythm

Random rhythm describes an artwork that contains repeating elements without a specified order or arrangement. Some random rhythm examples include splatters of paint or shells on a beach.

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-3
René Magritte, Golconde, 1953
Alexander Calder, International Mobile, 1949
Bridget Riley, Recollection, 1986
Mary Martin, Compound Rhythms with Blue, 1966
Alice Aycock, A Little Cosmic Rhythm, 2007
Chuck Close, Self Portrait, 2007
Joan Miro, Rhythmix Characters, 1934
Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950

Flowing Rhythm

Flowing rhythm describes an artwork that contains curved or circular elements that give the art movement. Some flowing rhythm examples include flowers, clouds, or waves.

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889 (See: The Starry Night story and lesson)
Gloria Petyarre, Bush Medicine Dreaming, 2008
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893 (See: The Frieze of Life, Lesson & Project, Visual Analysis Lesson)
Henri Matisse, The Dance, 1910
Hans Hokanson, Helixikos Number 3, 1968
Sonia Delaunay, Electric Prisms, 1914
Hokusai, The Great Wave, 1829-32
Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907
Bruce Barnbaum, Dance of the Corn Lilies, 1991
Bruce Barnbaum, Moonrise over Cliffs and Dunes,1992
Gustav Klimt, Fish Blood, 1897-8

Regular Rhythm

Regular rhythm describes an artwork that contains repeating elements with a specified order or arrangement that can be measured. Some regular rhythm examples include evenly spaced windows or tiles.

Donald Judd, Untitled, 1969/1982
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates, 2005
Do-Ho Suh, Floor, 1997-2000
Wayne Thiebaud, Banana Splits, 1964
Wayne Thiebaud, Nine Jellied Apples, 1963
Grant Wood, Fall Plowing, 1931
Andy Warhol, Twenty-Five Colored Marilyns, 1962
Ferdinand Hodler, Rhythmic landscape on Lake Geneva, 1908
Marimekko, Hevoskastanja, 2005
Paul Klee, Pastoral (Rhythms), 1927

Progressive Rhythm

Progressive rhythm describes an artwork that contains repeating elements in a pattern that change either in size or color as they repeat. Some progressive rhythm examples include building blocks arranged from smallest to largest and spirals.

Victor Vasarely, Alom, 1966
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2), 1912
Sydney Opera House
Hilma af Klint, Altarpiece No. 1, Group X, 1915
Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958
MC Escher, Smaller and Smaller, 1956
Wayne Thiebaud, Banana Splits, 1964
Grant Wood, Fall Plowing, 1931
Andy Goldsworthy, Carefully broken pebbles scratched white with another stone, 1985
Bramante Staircase in the Vatican, 1932

In this fun rhythm in art examples video, the differences between pattern, repetition, and rhythm are described and put to music:

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Rhythm in Art Resources

Remember I will add to this, so don’t forget to pin this post!

Do you have a great example to teach rhythm in art? Share it with me in the comments, and I will add it to the list!

Elements and Principles Teaching Bundle

This extraordinary bundle includes the best resources for teaching each of the elements and principles—37 worksheets/handouts, 15 lessons (with accompanying PowerPoints and Handouts), 3 ready-to-go art analysis activities, 3 art analysis videos, and 13 elements and principle PDF articles.

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There you have it! The best rhythm in art examples for your elements and principles of art lessons. Want more elements and principles of art teacher resources? Check out the below posts.

The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art Series

Elements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and Scale

The Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300

The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300

The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

December 12, 2017 3 Comments

The Frieze of Life by Edvard Munch: Exploring Our Human Experience

Inside: Explore these powerful artworks in the series by Edvard Munch Frieze of Life and then download the lesson to use in your classroom!

Edvard Munch’s The Scream is one of the most captivating and powerful artworks ever produced. But did you know that it is part of a larger series of artworks? Beginning in the 1890s, Munch created a stunning series of paintings called The Frieze of Life. The paintings produced during this time of his life are some of his most dramatic and most well-known.

Edvard Munch Frieze of Life The Scream Art Lesson

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What is a Frieze?

As an art teacher, you may already recognize the word frieze. Either you vaguely remember it from college or you just weirdly have the parts of a Greek temple memorized like I do (why, oh why, do I just know what a metope is?).

A frieze “a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling.” (source: Google dictionary)

Ancient Greek temples had a frieze layer on the entablature (the top part of the temple that sits on the columns). Often on the frieze, the Greeks and Romans would alternate between metopes and triglyphs. The triglyph is the block with the three parallel lines in this picture, and the metope is the relief sculpture between.

Frieze with Triglyph and Metope Photo Credit MichaelMaggs

I love how Munch referenced the history of art with The Frieze of Life.

The Life of Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm — Edvard Munch, *Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm*, 1895

Munch’s life included much tragedy and illness. His mother and sister both passed of tuberculosis while he was a child, and both he and a different sister spent time in mental health facilities. He once proclaimed “I inherited two of mankind’s most frightful enemies—the heritage of consumption and insanity.” (Source)

Edvard Munch Frieze of Life, The Voice Summer Night, 1896 — Edvard Munch, *The Voice, Summer Night*, 1896

His father’s strict piety caused turmoil in his life. He once said of his father, “My father was temperamentally nervous and obsessively religious—to the point of psychoneurosis. From him I inherited the seeds of madness. The angels of fear, sorrow, and death stood by my side since the day I was born.” (Source) His father did however provide him a great knowledge and education in history and literature.

Munch started out as an Impressionist style painter but soon found his voice and developed his own style.

Edvard Munch Frieze of Life

Munch did do his own version of Impressionism, but instead of capturing the essence of light and atmosphere, he captured “impressions of the life of the soul.” (Source)

The paintings in this series focused on capturing foundational human emotions and experiences: jealousy, love, anxiety, despair, isolation, separation, etc. From positive emotions to negative, he expresses emotions that people connect and resonate with.

Edvard Munch Frieze of Life, Anxiety, 1894 — Edvard Munch, *Anxiety*, 1894

Look at Anxiety. I know I have been that woman many times in my life. It is chilling.

Check out more of Edvard Munch Frieze of Life in the below slideshow.

→ While you are studying The Frieze of Life, check out my earlier post on The Scream by Edvard Munch art lesson. That post also has a free printable to analyze the elements and principles of art in The Scream!

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893 — Edvard Munch, *The Scream*, 1893

Munch Frieze of Life Art Project

After analyzing Munch’s art through the elements and principles of art and studying The Frieze of Life paintings, have students create their own Frieze of Life style paintings.

Either have students draw an emotion (from the printable in the lesson) or come up with their own emotion they want to portray, and invite them to use the elements and principles to create a portrayal of that emotion. Encourage them to not illustrate the emotion but rather express the impression of that emotion as Munch did!

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If you liked this post on Edvard Munch Frieze of Life, check out these others!

February 12, 2016 Leave a Comment

Visual Analysis Lesson for Edvard Munch’s The Scream

Inside: In this The Scream by Edvard Munch art lesson, your students will study the elements and principles of art to unpack how Edvard Munch created such a powerful and memorable work of art.

One of my favorite artists is Edvard Munch. His art is so powerful and emotional and raw. And it amazes me that he was doing art like this in the 1800s, way before the Expressionists of the 20th century.

The Art Curator for Kids - the scream by edvard munch art lesson

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There’s a madness and a chaos to his work, and you can’t help but feel something when you see it.

Edvard Munch, Separation, 1896 the scream by edvard munch art lesson — Edvard Munch, *Separation*, 1896

He often includes blank-faced people who make you think about who they might be or you may put yourself into their position. These are both specific real people with emotion and empty shells for us to put ourselves into.

"No longer shall I paint interiors with men reading and women knitting. I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love." - Edvard Munch — Edvard Munch, *Four Ages in Life*, 1902

Munch’s upbringing included a great deal of tragedy and illness which influenced his work throughout his life. His mother and sister both passed away from tuberculosis. Mental illness also ran in his family.

Edvard Munch, The Dead Mother, c.1900 the scream by edvard munch art lesson — Edvard Munch, *The Dead Mother*, 1900

His father’s strict piety caused turmoil in his life. He once said of his father, “From him, I inherited the seeds of madness. The angels of fear, sorrow, and death stood by my side since the day I was born.”*

Starting in the 1890s, Edvard Munch created a series of paintings that illustrated basic human emotions on a visceral level. This series by Edvard Munch, Frieze of Life, includes The Scream and many of his best works. For more about Munch Frieze of Life, check out this blog post.

The Scream by Edvard Munch Art Lesson

His art is excellent for a visual analysis assignment. His use of the Elements and Principles of Art is masterful.

E Munch The Scream edvard munch the scream lesson — Edvard Munch, *The Scream*, 1893

His most famous painting is obviously, The Scream. It is a great artwork for students to analyze the Elements of Art. In fact, in my How to Look at Art Course, I have students analyze the line and color in the artwork as an introduction to studying the elements.

Here are the questions I have students answer about this painting before we discuss as a class.

Describe the lines in this painting.
How does the artist create contrast with the lines?
Describe the colors in this painting.
How does the artist create contrast with the colors?
Describe how the artist depicts space.

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After students answer the questions in the course, they then watch a video of me going over the answers and discussing this art. Here’s the video.

Works Cited:
Prideaux, Sue (2005). Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream. New Haven: Yale University Press. Retrieved on Wikipedia.

August 24, 2015 2 Comments

10 Artworks Perfect for an Art Criticism Lesson

Through my many years of teaching, I’ve accumulated a nice list of artworks that are perfect to discuss with students and teach them how to analyze art. These artworks spark lots of interesting ideas, have easy to notice design choices that contribute to the meaning and always lead to a great art criticism discussion (or a great student-written essay) with the students.

The Art Curator for Kids - 10 Great Artworks for Stimulating Discussion, Art Criticism Lesson, How to Analyze Art

These artworks are great for high school and college students, but many work for elementary and middle as well. You can use your judgment to decide what works best for your students.

The Four Steps of Art Criticism Lesson Plan

I created this list for my lesson on the art criticism steps available for sale. The Four Steps of Art Criticism lesson teaches students how to analyze art through the art criticism steps of description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. This resource includes a lesson outline (pdf), a PowerPoint, a written assignment instructions handout (pdf and editable .doc), a quiz (pdf and editable .doc), and a list of artworks including (but not limited to) the ones below. Buy it now for $14, and use it in your classroom tomorrow!

The Four Steps of Art Criticism Lesson Plan

This lesson covers the four steps of art criticism using artworks. Explore description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation with your students using engaging activities and examples.

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Ten Artworks Perfect for Art Criticism with Students

Most of these are not in the public domain. I have included small thumbnails for your reference. Click the picture to view a larger image.

Marc Chagall, Young Girl in Pursuit, ca. 1927-28

This one is so simple and straight-forward, but it always sparks the imagination of the students.

Questions to Ask: How does this artwork make you feel? What choices does the artist make to make you feel that? Who is this woman? Why is there a woman in her hair? What is the meaning of this artwork?

Salvador Dalí, Persistence of Memory, 1931

Everyone knows this one. I read some study one time that said Salvador Dalí was the most recognized artist name among people interviewed on the street. I found that to be fascinating. From the melting clocks to the sleeping head, to the ants crawling all over the pocket watch, to is that a snake coming out of his nose?, this one has a lot for students to unpack.

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John Feodorov, Animal Spirit Channeling Device for the Contemporary Shaman, 1963

John Feodorov, Animal Spirit Channeling Device for the Contemporary Shaman, 1997 — John Feodorov, *Animal Spirit Channeling Device for the Contemporary Shaman*, 1997

I wrote more about this one on the post: 5 Artworks to Intrigue your High Schooler.

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939

This one is also on 5 Artworks to Intrigue your High Schooler. Read more there. 🙂

Edvard Munch, Separation, 1896

Students love coming up with stories about this one. He is having a heart attack, and the woman is an angel taking him away. The woman is the ghost of his wife who has passed. And more, lots of great stories. The artist’s use of line, color, and contrast adds meaning to the student’s interpretations.

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Luis Felipe Noé, Cerrado por brujería [Closed by Sorcery], 1963

This is one of my all time top artworks to discuss with students. I usually show it on the first day of class in my community college art appreciation class. I wrote a whole post about it here.

Pablo Picasso, Girl before a Mirror, 1932

This painting made me weep when I saw it the first time. It’s stunning in person. Read more about it on 5 Artworks that Promote Introspection. This is a great one to have students write about at the beginning of class.

Lawrence Beall Smith, Don’t Let That Shadow Touch Them, 1942

I love connecting history and art. I include this piece of propaganda art on one of my tests for students to write about. You would be surprised how many students don’t recognize the swastika. In addition to discussing the power images have on our feelings and decision, the historical significance of the image is an important discussion to have with the students.

George Tooker, The Subway, 1950

Creepy, suspicious men and multiple perspectives make this one a fun one to talk about with students. The lone, solitary woman with the concerned expression makes us think, and why is she holding her stomach? Lots to talk about.

Kara Walker, Darkytown Rebellion, 2001

This one has some sensitive subject matter. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this for a college class, but only you can decide if it works for your students. I actually got in an argument with one of my friends in front of one of Kara Walker’s artworks like this one. I love art that sparks opinion and discussion. I don’t shy away from big topics in my classroom. Art opens up important dialogues, so I think it is important to let those happen in the classroom. After students look and figure out what is going on through art criticism, we discuss the element of the projection and how the viewer can become a part of the art by standing in between the light and the wall. It leads to some interesting thoughts.

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May 7, 2015 6 Comments

The Ultimate Collection of Color in Art: Examples and Definitions

It’s time again for an Elements and Principles of Art post! This post includes good examples of color in art, divided into categories. This list of examples of color in art contains the following elements of color: warm and cool colors in art, primary color art, complementary colors in art, analogous colors examples, neutral colors in art, and color intensity in art.

Want to check out my color wheel lesson on Color in Art? Click here to purchase the color in art and color wheel lesson.

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Examples of Color in Art

Primary Color Art

The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The primary colors are the basis for all other colors. You cannot do anything to mix blue, yellow, or red. They just exist.

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-43
Mark Rothko, Untitled (Yellow, Red, and Blue), 1953
Jacob Lawrence, Workshop (Builders #1), 1972 and many others
Cy Twombly, Summer Madness, 1990 (Click link, then click #20)
Hans Hofmann, The Golden Wall, 1961
Pablo Picasso, Claude and Paloma Playing, 1950
Fritz Glarner, Relational Painting No. 64, 1953
Roy Lichtenstein, Stepping Out, 1978
Ancient Roman, Glass Garland Bowl, late 1^st century B.C.E.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ambassadeurs Aristide Bruant in his cabaret, 1892
Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, 1627

Complementary Colors in Art

Complementary colors in art are opposite each other on the color wheel. They create a lot of contrast in art. Look around in the world, and you will be surprised how often complementary colors are used. What are the sets of complementary colors? The basic complementary color pairings are red and green, purple and yellow, and orange and blue.

Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle), 1913
Pablo Picasso, Woman in Striped Armchair, 1941
Rufino Tamayo, Women of Tehuantepec, 1939, Oil on canvas

Complementary Colors in Art – Red and Green

Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911
Ando Hiroshige, Plum Estate, Kameido From “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, 1857
Shinobo Ishihara, Test for Color Deficiency
Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888
Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse (Green Stripe), 1905
Pablo Picasso, Woman with Hat, 1962
Georgia O’Keeffe, Anything, 1916 (Click link, top right image)
Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustin-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851-1930), 1889
Kay Kurt, Weingummi II, 1973

Complementary Colors in Art – Blue and Orange

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, 1890
Edgar Degas, Ballerina and Lady with Fan, 1885
Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, 1892
Paul Klee, Ad Parnassum, 1932
Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889
Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872
Fritz Bultman, Blue I, 1958
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Oscar Wilde, 1895
Sandy Skoglund, Revenge of the Goldfish, 1981
Stuart Davis, Colonial Cubism, 1954
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893
Arnold Böcklin, Island of the Dead, 1880

Complementary Colors in Art – Purple and Yellow

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1914-1926
Fritz Scholder, Dream Horse G, 1986
Henri Matisse, The Dream, 1940
Pablo Picasso, Woman with Yellow Hair, 1931 (also red/green)
Ray Spillenger, Purple and Yellow, 1963
Francis Bacon, Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953
Federico Barocci, The Nativity, c. 1597
Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1954

Analogous Colors Examples

Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. They create unity in art because they are made of the same colors. Example sets of analogous colors are blue, blue-green, and green or orange, red-orange, and red.

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken, 1969
Vincent van Gogh, The Olive Trees, 1889
Claude Monet, The Water-Lily Pond, 1899
Mark Rothko, Untitled (Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red), 1949
Helen Frankenthaler, Freefall, 1992
Ed Paschke, Painted Lady, 1995
Giorgio de Chirico, Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, 1914
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading, c. 1770
Geertgen Tot Sint Jans, John the Baptist in the Wilderness, ca. 1490

Warm and Cool Colors in Art

Warm colors are the colors red, orange, and yellow. They are bright and pop out. They create energy and excitement in an artwork. Blue and green are cool colors. These cool colors create a calming energy in an artwork. Violet/purple can be both warm and cool depending on how much red or how much blue is in the violet.

Warm Colors in Art

Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888
Paul Gauguin, Still Life with Mangoes, 1891-1896
Mark Rothko, Untitled (Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red), 1949
Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888
Robert Adam, The Croome Court tapestry room, Worcestershire, 1758-67
Frederic Church, Cotopaxi, 1862
Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1601-1602

Cool Colors in Art

Claude Monet, The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, 1900
Winslow Homer, Fishing Boats, Key West, 1903
Richard Parkes Bonington, The Undercliff, 1828
James McNeil Whistler, Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Chelsea, 1871
Natalya Goncharova, Linen, 1913
Katsushika Hokusai, 36 Views of Mount Fuji, ca. 1829-32

Neutral Colors in Art

Neutral colors are created by using white and black or are created by mixing sets of complementary colors together to make varying shades of brown. Examples of neutrals include gray, brown, tan, white, black, etc.

El Lissitzky, Proun 19D, c. 1922
Claude Monet, Sunrise (Marine), 1873
Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Iris, 1926
Camille Pissarro, Place du Théâtre Français, Paris: Rain, 1898
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912

Color Intensity in Art

Intensity refers to how saturated a color is. It is the brightness or the dullness of a color. Colors with high intensity are bright, and colors with low intensity are dull.

Color Intensity in Art: High Intensity

Pablo Picasso, The Weeping Woman, 1937
Andre Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Seated Girl (Fränzi Fehrmann), 1910
Jim Dine, The Circus #3, 2007

Color Intensity in Art: Low Intensity

Salima Hashmi, Poem for Zainab, 1994
Paul Klee, Hammamet with Its Mosque, 1914
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge The Departure of the Quadrille, 1892
Camille Pissarro, Place du Théâtre Français, Paris: Rain, 1898
Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952

Do you have a great example to teach color in art? Share it with me in the comments, and I will add it to the list!

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For more elements of art examples and principles of design examples, visit the following resources.

April 17, 2015 7 Comments

The Lives of the Artists: Can we separate art and artist?

I used to have a coworker who HATED Picasso. He was a womanizer she said, but I argued that it doesn’t matter. Picasso is a genius who changed art in so many incredible ways.

On the same note, one of my close friends hates Georgia O’Keeffe because she took a class about her in college and didn’t like O’Keeffe because of what she learned about the artist’s life and personality. I argued again that O’Keeffe’s work in person was breathtaking. Who cares if she made choices in her life that you don’t agree with?

Last week, I posted a list of my favorite books and movies about artists for both kids and adults. In the post, I talk about how learning about the artist can add another dimension to connecting with their work. I love watching videos of artist’s work and seeing a fingerprint or a spontaneous brushstroke that shows the movement of the artists hand through space. These things connect me to the person on the other side and help me feel like a part of this world.

But, I think there is a fine line here that I can’t seem to place myself on either side of. I do love connecting with the artist, but what happens when the artist is a jerk or someone who abandoned their kids or even Hitler who was a struggling artist himself?

Can we still love and appreciate and be moved by art made by unsavory characters?

I personally think that art should speak for itself and stand alone. I believe we shouldn’t just the picture by the personality of the person who made it. I rarely bring in elements of the artist’s life unless it somehow relates to the art we are studying (like the death from tuberculosis of Munch’s mother and sister contributing to the sadness in his art or the rape of Artemisia Gentileschi contributing to her strong female characters and chosen subject matter).

On the other hand, I also would never seriously show Hitler’s art or discuss it outside of the horrific context surrounding it or an aesthetics discussion like this one.

It’s a personal choice I guess. Where you draw the line may be different from where I draw the line.

What do you think? Can we separate art from artist? Should we? What does this mean for our teaching? Let me know in the comments or on this post on Facebook.

January 6, 2015 16 Comments

A Year of Art Appreciation for Kids: 52 Artworks your Child Should Know

I have compiled for you a massive list of artworks for you to look at with your kids this year. I picked one artwork for each week of the year, and I tried to pick the best of the best. If you haven’t been showing art to your kids, this is a great list to start with! Just sit down and talk about a new artwork each week for a few minutes.

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Talk about Art with Your Kids

Here are some posts from Art Class Curator for tips at looking at art with your kids.

Art Appreciation for Kids

Instead of dividing by week, I divided by time period. Regrettably, this list does not include non-western art or contemporary art. For more awesome non-western art, check out my Art Around the World series. Each entry below includes a link to find the picture.

Ancient to Classical Art

Prehistoric, Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E (On ACFK, 5 Artworks to Promote Introspection) (Buy replica on Amazon)
Sumer, the Standard of Ur, about 2600-2400 B.C.E. (Book about this artwork)
The Law Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, c. 1750 B.C.E (Book about Hammurabi’s Code)
Ancient Egyptian, Palette of King Narmer, c. 3000-2920 B.C.E.
Myron (Ancient Greek), Discus-thrower (Discobolus), Roman copy of a bronze original of the 5th century BC (Book about this artwork)
Hellenistic Greek, Laocoön and His Sons, early first century C.E.
Ancient Roman, Augustus of Primaporta, first century, C.E.
Ancient Roman, The Alexander Mosaic, ca. 100 BC (Poster of this artwork)

Whew! This is quite a list. It was hard to choose, and I know I left out some great artworks. Keep reading on Art Class Curator to learn more about teaching art to kids.

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December 19, 2014 7 Comments

25 Favorite Madonna and Childs in Art History

Of all the subjects in all of art history, I would place money on Madonna and Child being the most represented subject in art. Just type “Madonna and Child” into a Google image search, and you will find an endless list of beautiful artworks. Today, I was going to do a 5 favorite Madonna and Child paintings post, but I absolutely couldn’t pick 5. I moved it to 10, then 12, then 20, and then I ended up at 25. I just found a 26th, and I can’t leave it out, so technically there are 26 in this list now. I pretty much spent all day looking at Madonnas.

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